


Single Mother | Day6

by adorejaehyung



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Angst, Divorce, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Post-Divorce, Single Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-20
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-08-26 14:58:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16683775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adorejaehyung/pseuds/adorejaehyung
Summary: day6 fanfiction.six kids.two parents.one divorce.one story to sum it all up.





	1. Prologue

     The sun set in a beautiful hue of purple that night when Chaehyun overheard her parents in the kitchen. Her siblings had left long ago to visit their friends, a visit their mother and father were very adamant to express. Jae went to Woosung's to review homework; Sungjin was at the park with his girlfriend, Younghyun ended up with Amber at a café, and Wonpil and Dowoon were with their friend Bernard at the local animal shelter. In addition, Chaehyun was alone, waiting for Yerim to pick her up from volleyball practice.

     Yerim never came that night.

     Chaehyun had settled on the windowsill of her bedroom window. In the room she shared with Younghyun, there was a bay window in the middle of the room. Chaehyun and Younghyun had fought for that window for years until their mother made them agree to share it. On one side of the window, some of Younghyun's posters were taped to the wall, On Chaehyun's side, plushies and dreamcatchers were evident. To this day, Chaehyun refuses to remove the childhood decorations from her side. Now, as a preteen, Chaehyun stares at the driveway, looking for the familiar black car that meant Yerim had arrived. She watched the streets fill with cars as her schoolmates arrived back home from the school football game, and soon, the streets were barren.

     Chaehyun soon grew bored of watching and waiting, and left the room. She wandered down the hall, letting herself enter the two other rooms she never got to enter whenever she wanted. The first room was Jae and Sungjin's, a room so mixed together she forgot two people shared that room. Jae's side made his personality very clear; dark, neutral colours mixed together with vibrant colours of guitars. On his walls, skateboards hung, and posters were messily pinned to the walls. In addition, on Sungjin's side, the messily pinned posters and vibrant guitars remained the same. The only thing different about the two sides were the bands on the posters and the lack of skateboards on Sungjin's side. Chaehyun took the scenery in, hoping that it will change one day, even though the two are well in to their teenage years. She closed the door, and walked down the hallway.

     Chaehyun took a step in to the twin boys' room. One-step in, and she already felt a headache. The two boys were not exactly the cleanest and dirty clothes were starting to flow out of their hampers. Chaehyun pinched her nose as the smell of mold filled the air, ad she found the culprit quickly. Wonpil had left a lemon in a Ziploc bag on his desk, all covered in mold. She gagged in disgust, and ran out of the room.

     Chaehyun headed back to her room to watch and wait again. Surely, Yerim would come for her. Yerim said so herself. Why would Yerim, her best friend, lie to her? There was no way.

     As Chaehyun sat back down on the windowsill, she heard a faint peep come from the kitchen downstairs. Chaehyun's heart started racing because of it. The walls of their house were mostly soundproof, so to hear the slightest noise, especially from downstairs, frightened her easily. She grabbed a guitar off Younghyun's wall, and crept her way to the stairs. Guitar still in hand, she quickly descended the stairs.

     Once at the bottom, Chaehyun's grip on the guitar grew stronger. The peeps she heard in her room were now forming words, and those words were forming sentences she could barely understand. Chaehyun crept her way along the wall until she was right by the kitchen, where she stopped.

     "We need to figure out who gets custody of who, Seunghyun!" Hansol, the father, demanded. "This isn't some game of cat-and-mouse, where we wait for the kids to tell us." He adds.

     "Well, why can't we wait for them to tell us?" Seunghyun replied, her voice soft and gentle. "They're old enough to make their own decisions."

     "And risk them being forced to conform to societal biases that they will regret and blame on themselves because they picked the parent they chose to live with?" Hansol yelled. "I think not."

     "Hansol." Seunghyun sighed, her motherly instincts started to reflect in her voice. "Jae's sixteen, Dowoon's twelve. They can make their own decisions. There is no, 'societal bias,' because of which parent they chose to live with."

     "You're missing the point in all of this." Hansol grumbled. "Society views single parents as loners. Kids of single parents are usually viewed as betas because everyone else has both parents. Single fathers are looked down upon, and single mothers are seen as women who are never around. Do you want that? For the kids to suffer through that?" Hansol asked.

     "I would rather see my kids happy with one parent than miserable with both." Seunghyun shrugged her shoulders. "Look around, Hansol. The kids know we are fighting constantly. This is inevitable. We have to part ways, even if everyone looks down upon it. It isn't working out and is only harming ourselves and the kids."

     Hansol crossed his arms across his chest and stuck his bottom lip outwards. The pouty face, something Chaehyun could not stand.

     "I want Chaehyun." Hansol stated after a long period of silence. "If one of the kids have to have a single father, she can handle it the most."

     "Chaehyun can't stand you, though." Seunghyun responded, which caused Chaehyun to loosen her grip on the neck of the guitar. "She's said it so many times. To her, you are an executive who never spends time with her. There is no relationship there to keep building, and it's too late to start one."

     "There will always be time to start a relationship with my daughter." Hansol responded. "She's twelve. Her mind is still developing, and I can finally be in the picture."

     "She hardly knows you." Seunghyun shot back. "She doesn't open up to people she barely knows now. The relationship you'll build with her will break once she's on her own."

     Chaehyun's grip on the guitar's neck strengthened.

     "Why don't we let the kids pick?" Seunghyun asked. "It's our only option." She added.

     Silence floated around the two as Chaehyun kept gripping the guitar, not noticing how badly her hands hurt. She held back the adrenaline that ran through her system as she waited for a response from her father.

     "Sure." Hansol sighed deeply. "If that's what you want."

     As soon as Hansol finished speaking, Chaehyun snuck away from the kitchen. The guitar still in her hands, she leapt up the stairs to the hallway. Her door was open, pleading for her to wander inside and process what had happened. Chaehyun flew down the hallway and quietly closed the door behind her.

     The first thing Chaehyun did was set the guitar back on the wall. She paced the room for a minute before she balled her hands in to fists. She diverted her gaze towards a wall, and without thinking, punched it. Her already ghostly-pale knuckles turning whiter as she punched.

     Once a shooting pain crawled through her hand, she stopped. She cast her gaze at the wall, seeing a small dent in the drywall as a few flakes started to float down on to the carpet. Her eyes fell to her hand, which was covered in cuts and scrapes, and had started bleeding.

     Chaehyun frowned at the damaged hand, not knowing how to explain it to her parents when they would ask. She simply chose to ignore it, and instead checked her phone. She opened a text notification she received ten minutes ago from Yerim.

Hey, I can't pick you up. Volleyball practice is running late again. Maybe tomorrow? xo

Sure. Tomorrow is fine.  
Seen 7:36 P.M.

***

     With a small huff, Chaehyun rises from bed, still dressed in her school clothes from yesterday. She mentally scolds herself for not noticing, and heads to the bathroom with a change of clothes.

     She stares at the shower, not being mentally prepared to be alone in the shower again. She has hated showers ever since she was little. Not because they required her to stand, but because she had the worst shower thoughts ever. It is present in the notebook she has on the wall, a project started by Dowoon. Each sibling has a waterproof notebook where they write whatever they think of while showering. Most notebooks are filled with funny, stupid thoughts, like, "what if penguins had knees?" However, Chaehyun's has deeper, philosophical thoughts, like, "what is the human's purpose?" Her siblings never make fun of her for it since it strikes up long, deep conversations with the reserved girl.

     Chaehyun braces herself, and starts to peel her school uniform off. Once she finishes getting ready, she turns the water up to the hottest setting she can. Once she pulls the faucet, the shower starts to pour water, and she embraces herself. She quickly pushes herself towards the wall, pulling the curtain closed with her. She backs up to the shower, and stares at the wall.

     One minute in, and she has a bunch of thoughts needing to be written down. She grabs a pen from one of the soap trays, and starts writing down whatever comes to mind. She stops to wash her hair, body, and face, and continues.

     A loud knock interrupts her thought process.

     "Chaehyun!" Her mother, Seunghyun, yells. "Yerim's mum called. They'll be over in half an hour." She states.

     Chaehyun silently curses herself, stopping the water. She pulls the curtain open, immediately grabbing a towel to wrap around her body. She covers herself with the fluffy purple towel as she steps on to the bath mat beneath her feet. She turns to look at herself in the mirror, but all she sees is steam.

     She waddles towards the stack of rags, and dries her face off as she uses another rag to wipe the fog off the mirror. Her ashy brown hair sticks to each other in one huge, dripping-wet clump as her bare face is exposed, and feels fresh. She finishes drying off her body before wrapping the towel around her hair.

     Chaehyun starts to pull her body through the clothes she chose for the day. Dark blue jeans, her favourite plum sweater, and her favourite flower clown. Her body tenses up as she checks the time, realising she only has five minutes left. She quickly hand-dries her hair before using a hairdryer set at full blast, brushing it in the process She drops the flower crown on her head before rushing out of the bathroom, ignoring the mess of puddles she left on the floor and the makeup on the counter.

     Chaehyun rushes to her room, jumping on her bed filled with fluffy pillows to grab her phone.

Hey, I'm outside. We're going to watch a movie before watching the animals at the park. Plan?

Plan  
Read 11:40 A.M.

     Chaehyun grabs her phone charger and bag of snacks before racing downstairs. In her rush, she forgets to notice her mother trying to grab her attention.

     "Park Chaehyun." Seunghyun blocks the door from her daughter.

     "Yes, Mum?" Chaehyun asks. "Yerim's waiting for me outside."

     "When your brothers come back, we're having a family meeting." Seunghyun states. "Remember that."

     "I will." Chaehyun states, holding back the urge to roll her eyes. "Can I leave now?"

     "Of course." Seunghyun states. "Have fun, Kiddo."

     "No promises." Chaehyun mumbles under her breath, speed walking towards Yerim's mum's car.

***

     Chaehyun wanders inside the house through the back door, where she watches as her father massages his forehead in his hands. For a split second, she pities the man in front of her, and ducks her head down as she walks past him. The arch between the kitchen and living room feels as if Chaehyun entered a second dimension.

     In the kitchen, it felt like a barren wasteland where the air was foggy, tar strewn across the roads in large puddles, and trees were charred. There were soldiers wandering up and down the streets, watching the citizens walk along the small gravel path as they walked towards their inevitable doom. The cries of young children piercing the air when their tired mother slipped on a pebble and almost stumbled over. The older kids pasting a straight smile over their faces, hoping to reach the happiness they were told about at the end of the road.

     In the living room, it felt so much nicer. The air was clean and smelt of lemons as colour flew across the space. The people who had wandered in from the forest were jumping around; glad they finally escaped from the hellhole they left. The trees were full of auburn leaves as the fall sky started setting. Children surrounded small bonfires as they roasted marshmallows and told ghost stories.

     Chaehyun guesses that the presence of her mother always makes a room brighter.

     Chaehyun wanders her way towards the white couch her twin was sitting on. With a pat, Chaehyun had plopped right next to Younghyun, a straight line present on her face as she stared at her mother, whose face looked tired as she smiled. It hurt Chaehyun to see her mother, who is normally vibrant and full of energy, to be as sullen and drained as she is now,

     "Kids, I have something to tell you." Seunghyun starts, her gaze falling down towards the legs of the couch. "It isn't good, so please be ready to comfort each other."

     Jae leans back on the sofa, causing Sungjin to hit his arm for shifting the weight.

     "Your father and I are getting a divorce." Seunghyun states.

     Chaehyun turns to look at her younger brothers, only to regret making such a decision. Dowoon's eyes had widened as he leaned back, while Wonpil had immediately started crying. As she looked towards her older brothers, all she saw was dead eyes and straight faces.

     "Wonpil, it's okay." Seunghyun crouches down to comfort him. "It's not all bad."

     "But..." Wonpil's voice trailed off.

     "Don't worry; you'll still be able to see him." Seunghyun reminds.

     Seunghyun stands back up, taking a few steps back to face her army of kids. She takes a deep breath.

     "There's something I need you guys to do." Seunghyun states. "Your father and I need to know which parent you want to live with. Now-"

     "I choose Mum." Jae states, cutting his mother off. "I'm sorry I interrupted, but I made my choice before you even asked us to pick."

     "Okay then." Seunghyun awkwardly laughs. "As I was saying, your father and I will not treat you differently because of who you picked."

     The group stays quiet, thinking amongst themselves as they tried to choose who they wanted to live with. Chaehyun, however, started freaking internally. She overheard her parents when her father stated she wanted her to live with him, but she wanted to live with her mother badly. She did not want to be in the forest forever, where dark purple fogged her vision forever, but she did not want to leave her father all alone in a big house.

     "I choose Mum." Sungjin, Younghyun, Wonpil, and Dowoon stated at once.

     The four boys share a look of amusement as they start to imitate laughs. Chaehyun smiles somberly as she casts her gaze towards the carpet beneath her feet.

     "I want to live with Dad." She whispers, standing up.

     Chaehyun bolts up the stairs, avoiding the surprised eyes of her brothers and mother. She rushes inside the room she shares with her twin brother, slamming the door shut behind her. She jumps on the windowsill, staring at the sun that is setting.

     A soft knock erupts from the door, but Chaehyun ignores it. She cuddles a stuffed bear closer to her chest as the door opens.

     "Sis." Younghyun mumbles. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?" He asks.

     "Leave me alone, Hyun." Chaehyun spits. "I don't want to talk to anyone."

     "Chae..." Younghyun sighs, closing the door behind him. "I know you don't like Dad, and we all know that. We are all confused. Please, tell me at least." He pleads.

     "I heard Mum and Dad arguing yesterday." Chaehyun states. "I had one of your guitars with me because I was scared someone had broken in. When I heard them arguing, I kept gripping your guitar until my knuckles were white. Dad stated that he wants me to live with him. And since you all want to live with Mum, I'm staying here so he isn't alone."

     Younghyun nods his head, leaving the room so his wailing sister can have her own space.

     For the first as her twin, he never felt so separated from her.

***

     Younghyun takes the last box out of the room her once shared with hi twin sister. He stares at the empty half of the room, wondering what Chaehyun would do to fill it up. His smile falls as he stares at the huge bay window right in the middle of the room.

     The window the two fought over for years. The window where the two used to cuddle up under blankets with hot cocoa watching the snowfall. Where the two would talk for hours about their day while the rain hit the glass. The various times when Chaehyun would stare across the street at Mark Tuan, hoping he would notice her. The window Chaehyun almost broke with a baseball and a surge of anger. The window where he would always meet his other half on a bad day with a juice box and a bag of Goldfish crackers.

     Now he has to leave the window where he had so many childhood memories. The window that kept him and Chaehyun together as the two twins grew apart.

     Younghyun wipes a tear from his cheek as she leaves the room behind.

     Saying goodbye was always the hardest part of his life.


	2. Chapter One

Seunghyun sighs as she watches her eldest son struggle to hang his guitar up. With how tall he stood, at least six feet up from the ground, it still surprises her that he cannot reach simple things.

     "Son..." Seunghyun mutters, walking her way around the giant she gave birth to. "I got this."

     "No!" Jae cries out. "I almost got it." He adds.

     "You clearly haven't." Seunghyun sighs. "I'm going to make sure you don't drop it by accident."

     Before Jae can refute his mother's logic, Seunghyun climbs the ladder she brought in to Jae and Sungjin's room. Seunghyun throws her hands down, silently asking Jae to hand her his guitar. Jae quickly places the bright red guitar in her hands. Seunghyun huffs with content, grabbing the strap of the guitar. She carefully lifts the guitar, placing the strap on the hook Jae had hung up moments ago. Once she confirms it is safe to let go, Seunghyun pulls her hands away from the strap.

     "Ta da!" Seunghyun states. "I did it." She adds, jumping off the ladder.

     "Thanks Mum." Jae states. "I couldn't have done it without you."

     "It's no problem, Jae." Seunghyun responds. "Now, what else do you need help with?" She asks.

     "I've got it from here." Jae states. "Sungjin's going to help in a few. Go help the others, since they're all weak."

     "They're not weak, Jae." Seunghyun rolls her eyes. "You're the weakest of the bunch. Even Chaehyun is stronger than you." She giggles.

     "Hey!" Jae squeaks. "At least I'm the tallest. I am always there to help my short brothers, sister, and mother when the top shelf arrives." He smiles, balling his fists and placing them on his hips.

     Seunghyun giggles at her oldest son. For someone who is sixteen, he acts a lot like a child.

     "Sure you are, Jae." Seunghyun states. "I'm going to help Younghyun now. You have fun hanging up your posters."

     "I make no promises." Jae states.

     Seunghyun takes a swift right, exiting the room her two eldest sons share. She walks down the hall, noticing a door cracked open. She waddles up to it, rasping her fists against the wooden barrier.

     "Knock knock." Seunghyun states, pushing the door open. "What's up, Hyun?" She asks.

     Seunghyun does not get an immediate answer, and her eyes start to wander the room. She finds Younghyun sitting on the windowsill of the bay window, staring absently out of it at the houses down the street, Seunghyun skips towards the windowsill, sitting down with Younghyun.

     "Whatcha looking at?" She asks.

     Younghyun points his finger lazily at a house down the street; Seunghyun's gaze follows his finger to find the house they used to live in. She squints a bit, seeing her ex-husband mowing the grass.

     "Look at the window." Younghyun instructs.

     Seunghyun's gaze moves up to the bay window, seeing the curtain that used to stay pulled away has been pulled back so no one can see inside the room. On the windowsill. A few plushies remain, and one lone dreamcatcher is present, hanging from the middle of the ceiling.

     "I wonder what's going on in there." Younghyun ponders. "I wonder how Chaehyun's doing by herself. I hope she is okay all alone. Maybe she will get to hang out with Yerim more now that she's alone." He whispers.

     "Hey, Hyun." Seunghyun states. "Don't think so negatively. Chaehyun is always down the street if you want to hang out with her. Besides, you will not be alone forever. Chaehyun is coming over tomorrow, and we are going to help her set up her side of the room. She's staying for the whole week, too."

     "Really?" Younghyun turns his head to face his mother's, his eyes lighting up.

     "Yes, really." Seunghyun laughs. "Don't be so somber all the time. Chaehyun is down the road, and she'll always be your twin." She adds.

     Younghyun nods silently, fixing his gaze back on the window down the street. He sees the curtain move slightly, and his posture straightens immediately. The curtain is pulled away, and Younghyun sees that his sister is on the floor with her five friends; Yerim, Wendy, Sooyoung, Joohyun, and Seulgi. The six girls walk towards the window and sit down, staring across the street as Mark Tuan and his six friends goof around.

     "Looks like you sister's stalking that Tuan boy again." Seunghyun shakes her head, a smile plastering its way on her face. "Does she like him?" She asks.

     "She's probably in love with him." Younghyun rolls his eyes. "I don't see what she likes in him." He adds.

     "That's what your aunts said when I met your father." Seunghyun says. "They couldn't believe I fell for him. He was such a jock in high school. Football captain, soccer goalie, all sorts of sports. And there I was, captain of the chess club, never seen without a book of some sorts." She adds. "Opposites attract."

     "But those two are too opposite." Younghyun emphasises. "Mark's quiet, follows the rules, he hasn't even gotten in trouble at all in his thirteen years of existence. Chaehyun's loud, always breaking some sort of rule, and has been to the principal's office so much the two are on a first name basis." Younghyun rolls his eyes. "I wonder if the two would make a cute couple. The quiet guy from America and the loud rebel from Korea."

     "Don't worry about it too much." Seunghyun ruffles Younghyun's hair. "If he hurts her, your brothers would be on his tail. So would you, even if he's your best friend."

     "Of course." Younghyun states. "Of course."

     Seunghyun watches the sun move across the bright blue sky, the fluffy grey clouds blocking bits of the sky. Younghyun watches the window, sighing as Chaehyun and her friends close the curtains. Seunghyun turns to see Younghyun getting up.

     "Whatcha doin'?" Seunghyun asks.

     "I'm feeling a bit depressed." Younghyun states. "I'm going to listen to some music and try to draw. Mind if I'm alone for a bit?" He asks.

     "I don't mind." Seunghyun chirps, standing up from the windowsill. "Whatever makes you happy that isn't illegal or harmful is okay in my book! You have fun."

     Younghyun nods his head, placing his headphones over his ears. Seunghyun wanders out of the room, entering the hallway. Seunghyun gets lost in the hallway, smacking her face against a wall. She rubs her face, turning to see a door wide open. She runs inside, watching as a can of Silly String Is sprayed at her. She turns to see Wonpil, can in hand, mouth wide open.

     "I'm so sorry!" Wonpil gasps, dropping the can on the carpet. "Dowoon and I-"

     "It's fine, Pencil." Seunghyun smiles. "As long as you clean it up when you're done."

     Wonpil's eyes light up as he bends over to pick up the can of Silly String. Dowoon kicks the door to the closet open, two cans of Silly String in each of his hands.

     "Reach for the sky, Dirtbag." Dowoon states, imitating a cowboy from a western film.

     Dowoon throws both cans of Silly String in the air, catching them as they fall. He aims both nozzles at Wonpil, who had frozen dead in his tracks, and starts pushing down on the nozzles, Silly String covering Wonpil immediately.

     "Dowoon!" Wonpil screeches. "I wasn't ready. Stop!"

     "Dowoon stops for no one." Dowoon states.

     Wonpil stops screaming, staring straight at Dowoon. Dowoon keeps spray Silly String at his older brother, initiating a staring contest between the two as the Silly String slowly stops emitting from the nozzles of the cans.

     "Uh, should I leave?" Seunghyun asks when the Silly String stops coming out of the can.

     "No." Dowoon states. "We're gonna need help cleaning this up."

***

     Seunghyun sighs as Wonpil and Dowoon tumble their way in to their shared room, various cleaning supplies stacked in their arms.

     "All we needed were plastic bags and a pocket knife." Seunghyun sighs.

     "What if the walls get stained?" Wonpil asks.

     "I doubt that," Seunghyun states, "but I like your thinking."

     Wonpil and Dowoon sit down with Seunghyun, peeling Silly String off each other's clothes as Seunghyun cuts string off the walls.

     "What in the name of Buenos Aires happened in here?" Jae asks, wandering his way in to the room.

     "Dowoon and I had a war with the leftover cans of Silly String." Wonpil states, fixing Dowoon's hair as Seunghyun bundles Silly String in to a plastic bag.

     "And you didn't invite me?" Jae asks.

     Dowoon nods his head.

     "I'm triggered." Jae humphs, crossing his arms over his chest.

     Dowoon shrugs his shoulders, picking clumps of Silly String off Wonpil's pants. The two twins, however annoying they could get, could not make Jae mad for over twenty minutes. He shakes his head at the two, a large grin plastering itself on his normally straight face.

     "What's up?" Seunghyun asks Jae. "You need anything?"

     "Uh, kind of." Jae states. "Follow me."

     "Can I finish cleaning this up first?" Seunghyun asks.

     "Of course." Jae states. "I'll wait for you outside."

***

     Seunghyun follows her eldest son outside to their backyard, which remained empty despite for the slab of concrete in the middle with a sad excuse for a fire pit in the middle.

     "What's up?" Seunghyun asks.

     "I just want to talk to the best mother in the world, duh." Jae answers.

     "Something's bothering you." Seunghyun states. "My motherly instincts say so. Now, Mr. Jaehyung, spill the beans. Or the tea. Whichever one is popular slang between you kids."

     "What happens to the family now that you and Dad are divorced?" Jae asks. "Will we still get to see Chae and Dad? Will Dad have to move because we live here now?"

     "Nothing bad is going to happen." Seunghyun reassures Jae. "You'll still get to see Chae and Dad. Dad will not move away because we live down the street. If he moves, it'll be for business."

     "But if he moves..." Jae whispers. "Chae'll leave, too." He whimpers.

     "It'll be hard, I know." Seunghyun grumbles. "It won't be the end of the world, though." She pipes up. "Now, let's go inside. The mosquitos are out."

     Jae nods his head, following his mother inside. He takes one last glance at the empty backyard, his smile falling.

***

     Chaehyun laughs as Joohyun holds the bottle of bleach in her hands. Yerim runs around with the red dye, threatening to throw it at Wendy.

     "Hey, where's your mum?" Sooyoung asks. "I had something I wanted to show her."

     Seulgi and Wendy look at Sooyoung, embarrassment in their eyes.

     "Did you not get the memo?" Seulgi asks.

     "What memo?" Sooyoung asks, tilting her head to the left like a puppy.

     "Her parents got divorced." Wendy states. "Her mum lives down the street."

     Sooyoung's eyes widen, her face flushing bright red with embarrassment.

     "My God." Sooyoung whispers. "I'm so sorry I brought it up!" She waves her hands around.

     "It's fine." Chaehyun states.

     Joohyun opens the bottle of bleach, asking Chaehyun yet again if she wants to dye her hair.

     "New life, new me." Chaehyun states. "You all are doing it, so why don't I? We can also get haircuts tomorrow before we go to my mum's. My treat." Chaehyun shrugs her shoulders.

     Joohyun nods her head, applying bleach to Chaehyun's roots. Chaehyun holds the damp cloth to her forehead, trying to avoid getting any bleach on it. As Joohyun works her way down the younger girl's hair, Seulgi and Wendy start to bleach Sooyoung and Yerim's hair. As the six girls sit on the carpet of Chaehyun's room, laughing at the cheesy movie they put on in the background, the room starts to feel empty. Almost as if a seventh person were missing.

     "Too bad Younghyun isn't here." Wendy pouts. "It feels... different... without him, as stupid as that sounds." She states.

     "Yeah, I can agree on that one." Sooyoung states.

     "It's so lonely now without him." Chaehyun sighs. "It is just my dad and I in this huge, empty house. We have no clue what to do with the two empty rooms."

     "Well, why don't we turn one in to a hangout room?" Yerim asks. "Since your brothers are gone, we can move all the stuff from the garage in to Sungjin and Jae's old room."

     "I don't know how my dad will feel about that." Chaehyun states. "The boys need somewhere to sleep when they stay over, and my dad needs an office that isn't the kitchen table. And besides, the only reason we got to use the garage was because my mum convinced him to let us hang out there."

     "Your dad's such a party pooper." Seulgi states.

     Chaehyun nods her head slowly, and Joohyun reaches over to grab the bottle of red hair dye. Joohyun applies the dye in random spots on Chaehyun's head. As Joohyun massages the dye in to certain areas of Chaehyun's bleaches hair, the group falls silent. The group hears a faint crash from downstairs.

     "Finished." Joohyun smiles.

     Chaehyun shoots up, grabbing her baseball from her dresser.

     "Stay here." She instructs the group. "I'll check to make sure none of us are going to die."

     The group nods silently, and Chaehyun wanders out of the room. She reaches the staircase, and descends. Each step down the stairs she takes, the farther the bottom looks, and the more anxious she gets. Her grip on the baseball in her hands strengthens. She reaches the last step, peeking her head around the corner. She determines that the coast is clear, and steps on to the tile floor. Once she steps on the tile, she walks straight towards the kitchen.

     She only has to take one-step through the arch to see that it is a mess.

     Broken plates, glasses, and bowls litter the floor by the sink. The trash, which was empty in the morning, is full of whoever knows what. The table, normally spotless, is loaded with paperwork and a huge briefcase. She spots her father behind the stacks of papers.

     "Dad?" Chaehyun asks.

     "Go away." Hansol growls. "I'm not in the mood to talk to you."

     Chaehyun sends him a somber smile, and turns around. She grabs a broom and dustpan that stands next to the sink, and begins to sweep the glass in to one pile. Hansol giggles from behind her.

     "What's so funny?" Chaehyun asks, not stopping her work.

     "You remind me so much of your mother." He states. "I miss her. I miss her a lot." He trails off.

     "I'm sure you do." Chaehyun rolls her eyes, sweeping glass in to the dustpan. "You sure didn't miss her when she left that one time. What did you say? Oh yeah. 'Don't come back.'" Chaehyun states bitterly.

     "I regret that." Hansol states. "I regret ever letting the woman I love go."

     "You love her?" Chaehyun arches her left eyebrow, dumping glass in to the rubbish bin. "'Cause last I checked, yelling at the woman you love until she cries isn't how a husband treats the wife he cherishes with all his heart."

     Chaehyun turns her head back to face her father, whose gaze fell down to whatever paperwork he was doing. She looks back at the ground, finding no glass left.

     "Look like my work's done here." Chaehyun states.

     Hansol shoots his head up to face the back of Chaehyun's head. He squints.

     "Hey." Hansol states. "I like your hair. Who did it?" He asks.

     "Joohyun." Chaehyun answers. "Not like you knew she was over, anyways."

     Before Hansol can answer, Chaehyun returns the broom and dustpan to its original position. She calmly walks out of the kitchen, climbs her way up the stairs, and returns to her group of friends.

     Oh, how she missed her mother's presence. It made a room that was as dark as night brighter than the sun.


	3. Chapter Two

     "Mum!" Sooyoung yells out, running out of the house to meet Seunghyun.

     Seunghyun laughs as the younger girl runs towards her, enclosing her arms around Seunghyun's waist. Chaehyun looks to the side, watching as her other friends enclose her mum in a huge group hug.

     "Hello, girls." Seunghyun laughs. "It's been a while. How are you guys?" She asks.

     "We're all doing well!" Seulgi states, removing herself and the other girls from Seunghyun. "We all just finished dying our hair last night, and then we finished that project we started the last time we were over."

     "Really?" Seunghyun gasps. "You all dyed each other's hair?" She asks.

     "Yup!" Wendy replies, a toothy grin creeping its way on her face.

     "It looks so professionally done." Seunghyun awes. "You girls are just so talented."

     The girls gush as Seunghyun starts to lead them to her house, Chaehyun especially being interested in whatever passes her by. She watches as every house she approaches gets bigger, the yards becoming filled with more greenery as she walks down the sidewalk. Seunghyun turns right, causing the group to stop abruptly to turn with her.

     "Welcome to the new house." Seunghyun states, opening the door. "It's a bit empty, but it'll be filled by the next time you come over."

     Chaehyun's face falls in awe at the house. Outside, its exterior matches her father's house. Inside, however, the space in the living room was larger than the living room at her father's.

     "I'll give a quick tour." Seunghyun winks.

     The girls follow Seunghyun around. They pass by the living room, kitchen, downstairs bathroom, garage, and dining room. Once at the stairs, Seunghyun allows the girls to run up the stairs first. Chaehyun stops as she notices the loft, something she does not have at her father's. The space is especially empty, and her face falls as she notices tons of empty boxes stacked. Seunghyun leads them down the hall to a door in the middle, opening it.

     "Chae!" Younghyun yells, his eyes lighting up. "Welcome to Mum's!"

     Chae's face falls as she notices the bay window in the middle. Her smile flutters back, however, when she notices Younghyun's face. She normally only remembers him as a young kid, suffering with bad depression, never seen without a scowl on his face and sadness in his eyes. The Younghyun she sees now makes her happy.

     "Thanks for the welcome." Chaehyun states. "I'm guessing this is my half of the room." Chaehyun states, wandering to the empty half.

     "Yup." Younghyun responds, watching as Seulgi wanders to look out of the bay window.

     "Look, Chae." Seulgi states. "You can see your house from here. Especially your window."

     Chae leans on to the windowsill, staring at the road until she spots her father's house. She spots the bay window.

     "Hyun." Chaehyun states, turning to face her brother. "If you ever get lonely at midnight, text me. We can communicate through the windows."

     Younghyun's face lights up as he nods his head in agreement.

     "Well, there's one more room to show you." Seunghyun states, leaning against the doorframe. "Follow me, girls."

***

     Seunghyun watches as the six girls squeal in excitement, running around the empty room.

     "Are you serious, Mum?" Chaehyun asks. "We can have this room?" She asks.

     "Of course." Seunghyun smiles. "I know how much you girls like to have your own space away from Younghyun. Your grandma knew, too, and she had this room built for you guys when I told her I'd be moving in a few months ago." Seunghyun states.

     Chaehyun stops in her tracks, a sad excuse for a tiny smile on her face. She remembered how depressed her mother was when her parents moved out of this house and to a retirement home in Daegu, even though they owned the house.

     "Grandma's okay, right?" Chaehyun asks.

     "They're doing fine." Seunghyun states. "But, anyways, what are you girls going to do?"

     "We're going to get haircuts." Chaehyun states. "The girls wanted to fix up their hair since it's getting too long. In addition, the dye is going to make the ends frizzy, so cutting it will make it nice and healthy again. Want to join?" Chaehyun asks.

     "I'll drive." Seunghyun states, grabbing her keys out of her purse. "Let's go."

***

     The girls step inside the hair salon, the bell attached to the door ringing.

     "Welcome!" The receptionist states. "Do you have an appointment?" She asks.

     "No." Seunghyun states. "I'm sorry in advance, there's a lot of people I've brought in."

     "I see." The receptionist leans over to watch Chaehyun and her friends sit down. "How old are they?" She asks.

     "The one with blonde and red hair is twelve." Seunghyun states. "The others are thirteen."

     "That's a lot of kids you have." The receptionist straightens her back, tapping away on the computer. "They're cute kids. Where's Dad?" She asks.

     "Ah, only one of them is mine." Seunghyun states. "The red and blonde one is my daughter. The others are her friends." Seunghyun states.

     "Oh shoot." The receptionist states. "I'm sorry. You just give off the vibe of having a lot of kids, you know?"

     "I understand." Seunghyun states. "I have five sons at home."

     "Damn, girl." The receptionist laughs. "Ages?"

     "Oldest is sixteen." Seunghyun sighs. "Youngest is twelve. Two sets of twins."

     "You poor woman." The receptionist smiles sadly. "Anyways, names?"

     "Park Chaehyun, Kang Seulgi, Bae Joohyun, Park Sooyoung, Wendy Son, and Kim Yerim." Seunghyun states.

     "All haircuts, right? We can touch up on the dye, too." The receptionist asks.

     "Just haircuts." Seunghyun states.

     "Alright." The receptionist taps away. "Your appointments will be called shortly."

     Seunghyun thanks the receptionist, heading to sit down with her daughter and her friends.

     Chaehyun watches as Yerim walks her way to her seat. The salon was busy when they entered, but all the customers before her had left, and no one has entered.

     "Park Chaehyun." A young girl states from behind the receptionist counter.

     Chaehyun stands up from her seat, following the girl to a station in the back. She takes her seat as the hairdresser places a bib around her body.

     "How do you want your hair cut?" The woman asks.

     Chaehyun uses her hands to show the woman how short she wants her hair cut.

     "My, that's a lot you want cut." The woman giggles. "Are you sure?" She asks.

     Chaehyun nods her head.

     "Do you have a reference picture?" The woman asks.

     Chaehyun fumbles, grabbing her phone out of her hoodie's pocket. She pulls up a photo of Dami from DREAMCATCHER, showing the woman.

     "Oh, I can definitely do that!" She states. "I love Dami!" She states.

     Chaehyun's eyes light up.

     "What's your favourite song by DREAMCATCHER?" Chaehyun asks.

     "YOU AND I is such a bop." The woman responds. "So is What. Actually, I take it back. All of their songs are bops."

     "I relate." Chaehyun responds.

     The two girls continue to talk about DREAMCATCHER, which eventually causes them to branch off in to other groups.

     "Hey, who do you stan?" The woman asks as she starts to remove a knot from Chaehyun's hair.

     "EXO, Pentagon, TWICE, MOMOLAND, EXID, NCT, Wanna One, iKON, GWSN, ASTRO, SNSD, HyunA, and Chungha." Chaehyun responds. "How about you?"

     "BTS, EXO, Pentagon, DREAMCATCHER, GWSN, TWICE, and The Boyz." The woman responds. "My name's Araminta."

     "Hello, Araminta." Chaehyun responds. "I'm Chaehyun."

***

     "You look so cute~!" Araminta squeals when she finishes. "Can I take a picture?" She asks.

     "Of course!" Chaehyun responds. "I'll give you my SNS so you can send it to me."

     Araminta takes her phone out of her pocket, snapping a photo with Chaehyun as the two pose. She hands her phone to Chaehyun, opening Instagram.

     "I'll follow you when I go home." Chaehyun states.

     Chaehyun types her Instagram username in to the search bar, tapping on her username. She sends herself the photos, hopping off the chair.

     "Here lies my hair." Chaehyun whispers, joining her friends at the front of the shop.

     "Oh my God." Yerim states. "You look so much like Dami!" Yerim squeals.

     Seunghyun giggles as Araminta takes her position behind the counter.

     "Your daughter is so nice." Araminta states to Seunghyun. "Anyways, that'll be 68,421 won." Araminta states.

     Seunghyun goes in to her purse to pay, but Chaehyun stops her. Chaehyun puts her money on the counter.

     "I saved up for this." Chaehyun states. "It's birthday gifts. Really late birthday gifts."

     Seunghyun tries to pay, but Chaehyun refuses. Chaehyun hands Araminta her money.

     "Thank you!" Chaehyun smiles. "Have a good day."

     "You too~!" Araminta waves as the seven walk outside. "God, does she remind me of my little sister." Araminta whispers when the group leaves.

***

     Chaehyun and her friends enter the empty room they have to themselves, planning how to decorate it.

     "What if we get bunk beds?" Seulgi states. "So we can all sleep in here instead of taking over Younghyun's space."

     "Oo, I can make our bedding!" Yerim pipes up. "We can decorate this room so nicely."

     "Let's put a TV right here." Wendy states. "I have an extra one in my attic that I can bring over."

     Sooyoung grabs a sheet of paper, drawing out the layout of the room.

     "So, we'll line our bunk beds along the wall. One set starts from the corner and ends around one-third down the wall. Then the last set finishes covering the wall. It's better than having our beds sticking out, because we won't have our own personal wall space." Sooyoung starts to talk, her math whiz taking over. "On this wall, we'll have a TV and entertainment stand so we can make fun of whatever movie we can find. Then, we will set up a fort where the bay window is. And finally, we'll make sure to include a desk and corkboard so we can hang up and display our group pictures."

     "How much maths went in to that?" Joohyun asks.

     "A lot of maths." Sooyoung answers, handing the paper to Joohyun.

     "Ouch, my brain." Joohyun hands Sooyoung the paper.

     Chaehyun giggles as her friends start to go crazy over the planning, basking in the glory of finally having a room to share with her friends instead of a garage.

***

     "See you Monday!" Chaehyun waves as Yerim walks out of the house.

     Chaehyun closes the door once she makes sure her best friend gets in to her mum's car safely, and her smile is replaced with a frown. She already feels lonely.

     Chaehyun trudges her way up to the room she shares with Younghyun, throwing the door open to see Younghyun on the windowsill, a sketchbook in hand, drawing.

     "Whatcha drawing?" Chaehyun asks.

     "The tree in the yard." Younghyun responds. "Wanna see?"

     Chaehyun waddles her way over to her brother, sitting down next to him. She looks at the rough sketch of the tree their grandmother tended to so lovingly, almost as if it were one of her daughters.

     "It's good." Chaehyun states.

     Younghyun nods his head in response, going straight to work to add more leaves and bark to the tree. Chaehyun takes the hint to leave him alone, and she heads to her side of the room, as empty as it is.

     She lays down on the carpet, her mind making shapes out of the dots on the ceiling. She notices that the dots make fruits, anime characters, video game characters, and even some of her idols.

     Chaehyun feels as if the last puzzle piece has been put in its place.

     Not all the dots make a picture. Sometimes, the dots are prettier on their own.

     The dots remind her of the music industry. Sure, the idol groups show a beautiful or handsome image, but some idols are not cut out for groups. They shine just by themselves.


End file.
